Eighty drug-related arrests have been made in Swadlincote in the last 18 months as the town has become a "24/7 takeaway" for addicts - say police from a special task force targeting 'cuckoo' dealers.
Teenagers as young as 17 have been arrested as big city drug barons from the likes of London and Birmingham have sent 'runners' to South Derbyshire to peddle drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, they said.
Shockingly, dealers have even been making two-for-one offers or peddling the substances for free in exchange for an address to sell drugs from in the town.
They later send a text out to numbers of known local drug users explaining where they will be at a certain time.
Police have now launched a crackdown on so-called cuckoo dealers, also known as runners, moving into Swadlincote to peddle drugs using violence and intimidation tactics, described as 'county lines.'
The dealers, who are often young people, are hired by big city drug barons to work for them.
They travel across the country from big cities including London and Birmingham and target drug dealers in smaller towns using threats and violence to force people to work for them from their own homes, hence the term 'cuckoo'.
PC Kevin Cassidy and PCSO Amanda Beer, from Swadlincote police station, head up the task force gathering intelligence from locals as well as working with other services such as South Derbyshire District Council.
The duo, along with acting Inspector Jason Cowley, also make safeguarding visits to victims known to have been 'cuckooed' in the past.
While county lines has become a problem nationally in the last 18 months, Swadlincote has been hit due to its access to Nottingham and Birmingham.
A total of 80 arrests have been made and 29 warrants carried out on 'cuckoo' dealers in the town in the last 18 months, police have revealed.
PC Cassidy said: "County lines is nothing more than a phone number but the person who holds the number is in the cities. These city drug dealers will have a runner.
"The runner is normally a young person who does not come from an affluent background and sees the drug dealers have money. The drug dealers will tell them to go to Swadlincote. They either go to a drug user's address or a vulnerable person for maybe about 24 to 48 hours and then go back home.
"The runners approach the drug users but they aren't users themselves. They have never really had police contact before and they don't really know what they have got themselves into."
Shockingly, teenagers as young as 17 have been arrested after they were caught dealing from a home in the town.
It comes after a court case last month when George Lopes, aged 18, travelled to Newhall from London to 'take over' two addresses in Four Lanes End, Newhall, and Midland Road, Swadlincote.
He has now been sent to a young offenders' institution for three years after admitting possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
PC Cassidy said: "George Lopes had no previous convictions but was arrested three times in the area."
The force has made an average of two arrests a week over the last 18 months, the first in York Road, Church Gresley.
Nthambi Mkanda, now aged 20, from Nottingham, was found with more than 70 wraps of Class A drugs in Church Gresley and arrested on suspicion of two counts of possession of intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin and two counts of being concerned in the supply of the drugs.
He has been sentenced to 45 months in a young offenders' institution.
David Toombs, also from Nottingham, was found with more than 70 wraps of Class A drugs, in Newhall. He was charged with possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine and possession of a knife.
He was sentenced to 30 months in a young offenders' institution.
Lopes, Mkanda and Toombs were all what is known as 'runners' who would be recruited by a city dealer to travel to Swadlincote.
PC Cassidy said: "The runner would have several numbers of known local drug users and send them a text saying 'this is where I will be' and they will either offer to give away free drugs for free or do a two-for-one offer in exchange for more phone numbers.
PCSO Beer said: "It is like a 24/7 takeaway."
It is not yet known how city dealers come to have numbers of local people in the first instance, but it is assumed a connection is made through prison.
The officers explained that these drug offers lead to a bigger addiction for users who will take the runners to another user.
"Then they say they will stay in their home for a few hours then don't go for a few days."
While it is often drug users who are targeted, police are finding that vulnerable people are also falling victim to cuckoo dealers.
"For some it is company. Girls selling sex will know of old, maybe lonely, men on their own and give the runners their addresses in exchange for drugs. Very often the girls selling sex are drug users themselves."
Some runners based in a home have sometimes used Newhall Park as a meeting point in the past
PCSO Beer said: "This is because one of the addresses was close to the park and people have been asked to meet there. Some don't even know who they are seeing. Some days it is a different person on the same number from a different address."
While Derbyshire Police executes warrants, the Swadlincote team of officers ensure previous victims are safe.
"We regularly visit a person who has been previously cuckooed and make sure they have the support they need, and us being there is also a deterrent but also helps with gathering intelligence."
A weekly meeting with housing and social care officers at South Derbyshire District Council, police, the anti-social behaviour officer at the council and probation ensures that everyone is working together and sharing intelligence.
They are also keen that neighbours look out for each other.
Twenty-three 'cuckoo' addresses in the Swadlincote area
Police have made arrests at these addresses, with the offender, from a city, dealing drugs. Arrests have been made at some of these addresses on more than one occasion:
Parliament Street, Newhall. Runners from Birmingham, London, Wolverhampton and Nottingham.
Four Lanes End, Newhall. Runners from Birmingham, London and Wolverhampton.
Plummer Road, Newhall. Runners from Birmingham, Staffordshire and Nottingham.
Pine Grove, Newhall. Runners from Staffordshire, Leeds, Nottingham.
Amberwood, Newhall. Runners from Staffordshire, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham.
High Street, Newhall. Runners from Nottingham, Birmingham and London.
Woodland Road, Stanton. Runners from London and Wolverhampton.
Lincoln Way, Midway. Runners from Staffordshire, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
Oversetts Road, Newhall. Runners from Wolverhampton, Birmingham and London.
Kinder Avenue, Newhall. Runners from Nottingham.
Belvoir Crescent, Newhall. Runners from Wolverhampton.
Springfield Road, Midway. Runners from Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
The A511 Midway. Runners from Nottingham and Birmingham.
Midland Road, Swadlincote. Runners from Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Nottingham.
Queen Street, Church Gresley. Runners from Staffordshire and Birmingham.
York Road, Church Gresley. Runners from Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham, London and Wolverhampton.
Main Street, Overseal. Runners from Nottingham.
Blacksmiths Lane, Woodville. Runners from Leicestershire and Nottingham.
Davis Road, Swadlincote. Runners from Nottingham.
Majestic Place, Swadlincote. Runners from London, Nottingham and Birmingham.
The Cutting, Hartshorne. Nottingham and Derby.
Shiloh Close, Woodville. Runners from Nottingham.
Toulmin Drive, Swadlincote. Runners from Nottingham.
PCSO Beer said: "Be aware of your neighbours, if there is a change in their behaviour or activity.
"Maybe they would have let you in their home before but they say they are going out. Or you see people going in and out frequently who don't live there.
"They are normally out on the street for as little as 30 to 40 seconds."
